Critical reflection and summary: Digital portfolio

During this module I have considered where my interests lie in my professional practice and I have discovered the means to develop these interests and questions into a professional inquiry. Through engagement with my peers and colleagues I have refined my ideas and developed a set of questions that I can use to fuel my inquiry.

During the first part of the module, developing lines of professional enquiry, I was encouraged to engage in professional networks through the use of special interest groups (SIGs) and the method I found most useful when using SIGs was the BAPP facebook page APPENDIX A. I found it very interesting and useful to discuss different topics with my peers and through exchanging ideas I feel I was able to help others define their inquiry questions just as they were able to help me. My First blog was entitled “developing questions in my professional practice” APPENDIX B. During this blog I discussed my original thoughts and questions surrounding my chosen topic of inquiry which is celebrity casting in musical theatre. I found blogging about my thoughts and getting feedback and comments from others extremely useful as I think it helps to shape a well-rounded argument when you have input from many different sources. I also took these discussions into my work place where I found that my colleagues had equally varying opinions on the subject, this is how I knew I had chosen a topic that was important to the theatre industry, it generated a lot of debate and there were many questions to be answered. After reading Mark Iles’ blog APPENDIX C my attention was drawn to an article he posted a link to which sums up a lot of my thoughts on the subject of celebrity casting APPENDIX D

Then I started to look at professional ethics and I feel that this is where I have learned the most from this module. Prior to my study I had not considered that there was an ethical framework involved in my work in musical theatre. As discussed in my blog post entitled “ethics in the workplace- theatre” APPENDIX E, I discovered that in fact “ethics” can be defined as the way we work, the way we treat our fellow professionals and the way we present ourselves on stage. I then decided to look at theoretical ethics and how that applies to my work in theatre and more specifically with regards to my inquiry in my blog entitled “Theoretical ethics in professional enquiry” APPENDIX F. Although I had not considered it before I now realise that ethics are an extremely important consideration when conducting a professional inquiry. Without an ethical structure behind your investigations the inquiry can have no academic merit and ethical considerations ensure the protection of any and all that participate in the inquiry. I also found a very interesting article entitled “A 1945 Code of Ethics for Theatre Workers Surfaces” APPENDIX G, which I found fascinating and helped me connect my thoughts on ethics to my professional practice.

The final part of the module was entitled “tools of professional inquiry”. During this final element of the module, I learned about differing tools for professional inquiry and what there benefits and limitations were. I posted a blog entitled “the merits and limitations of differing tools of inquiry” APPENDIX H where I discussed the problems that may be faced when using each of the tools (observation, interview, focus groups, and questionnaires) and then took these into consideration when deciding which tools to use for my professional inquiry and why I should use them.

I believe that this module has created a bridge in knowledge between the first module, where I learned critically reflect and use the technological tools at my disposal, and the final module, my professional inquiry. Using the knowledge gained in this module I now feel able to progress to my professional inquiry with confidence and ability and I hope I can use the tools I have gained effectively.

Appendix A: BAPP Facebook SIG: http://www.facebook.com/pages/BA-Professional-Practice-Arts-Middlesex-University/145821545478191 (accessed 3rd May 2011)

Appendix B: Sandy’s Blog: http://sandymoffat.blogspot.com/2011/03/developing-questions-in-my-professional.html (Accessed 3rd May 2011)

Appendix C: Mark Iles’ Blog: http://markgraemeiles.blogspot.com/ (Accessed 3^rd May 2011)

Appendix D: “a younger theatre”: http://www.ayoungertheatre.com/in-turn-safety-curtain/ (Accessed 3^rd May 2011)

Appendix E: Sandy’s Blog: http://sandymoffat.blogspot.com/2011/04/ethics-in-workplace-theatre.html (Accessed 3rd May 2011)

Appendix F: Sandy’s Blog: http://sandymoffat.blogspot.com/2011/04/theoretical-ethics-in-professional.html (Accessed 3rd May 2011)

Appendix G: LA stage times: http://www.lastagetimes.com/2009/08/a-1945-code-of-ethics-for-theatre-workers-surfaces/

 

Appendix H: Sandy’s Blog: http://sandymoffat.blogspot.com/2011/04/merits-and-limitations-of-differing.html (Accessed 3rd May 2011)

The Merits and Limitations of differing tools of inquiry

I think the tools of inquiry used within a professional investigation into a subject depend completely on that subject; for example, there are questions that couldn’t be answered by observation alone, important insights from professionals that could only be obtained perhaps by deep discussions or cleverly worded questions that provoke the desired responses. I had a thought about my particular needs within my professional inquiry and came to some conclusions about the merits and limitations of these tools.

• Observation

When I looked at observation as a tool of enquiry, I thought about how it could be of use to inquiries in general and I think if your inquiry looks at current practice within theatre, or practice in training, Observation would be an invaluable tool due to the fact that you have to observe a situation in order to reflect on it and distil your outcomes and conclusions from it. With regards to my specific inquiry, Celebrity casting in musical theatre and whether the industry needs it to survive, I can’t see a way to use observation as a tool of inquiry. My questions are subjective, one professional could feel very different to another and so other than the surface observation that Celebrities have been cast in theatre, when they were cast and how successful they were, observation cannot answer the deeper questions that I have and so I will not be using it as a central tool for my inquiry.

• Interview

I think interviews are an excellent way to gather information, unlike a questionnaire, in an Interview, the researcher can ask the interviewee to elaborate on answers, go further in-depth into questions where the interviewee feels passionate or has strong opinions. Some of the main problems with interviews however are that they could be time consuming to conduct, and some interviews could be more productive than others making it difficult to ensure that there is a fair and even balance between opposing views, again this is dependant on how emptive or passionate the interviewee is. I am of the opinion that the merits of interviews far outweigh their disadvantages, it is a perfect tool to get precise information and opinions, but I think it is important to make sure ethical guidelines are strictly adhered to.

• Focus Groups

I think the use of focus groups can be a very useful tool of inquiry. During a discussion, some participants may be very persuasive about a particular point of view and other participants have the ability to present arguments to these opinions and vice versa. I think focus groups would be a very useful tool for me due to the fact from my preliminary conversations with colleagues, I have discovered that the professional performers are generally split over the idea of celebrity casting. I do however think that it will be hard to make sure that the focus groups are conducted ethically, one person may be very out spoken and take over the discussion, I think the researcher has to be in control and make sure that the discussion always returns to topic and ensuring that opinions are aired evenly

• Questionnaires

Questionnaires can be a very difficult tool of inquiry; I think it is very important to ensure that the correct questions are asked and that they are asked in the correct order. Questionnaires will be an important part of my inquiry due to their wide reaching scope to include theatre patrons and audience members. It would be impractical to interview hundreds of audience members but I think most would be willing to take a few minutes to let me know their opinions on the subject on celebrity casting, even just using my social networks I have enough contacts that are not professional performers to ensure that I could get hundreds of responses and be able to collect vast amounts of data to ensure that I can get a good overall feel for what the audience wants, and how they feel about the current state of musical theatre. Questionnaires also have their limitations, assuming that the questions are worded very carefully and asked ethically, this can leave the researcher with “black and White” answers where there is no room for elaboration. Questionnaires will be vital in my inquiry; they will enable me to get information from a large group of people in a relatively easy and non-time consuming way.

A code of ethics for theatre workers from 1945

I found this neat little article about a code of ethics written for theatre workers in 1945, most of the ideas are still relevant today!

http://www.lastagetimes.com/2009/08/a-1945-code-of-ethics-for-theatre-workers-surfaces/

Theoretical ethics in Professional enquiry

After reading into theoretical ethics, I couldn’t help but consider which category I’d put myself into. I think it’s a very subjective and personal concept and I was particularly struck by the example in the reader of Kevin Carter, the photojournalist that left a Sudanese child to die. I have come to the conclusion that there are two ways in which Kevin Carters actions should be considered, personal and professional.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that Carter would not have let a child die if he could have prevented it in his personal life, i.e. when he was not working, however as a photojournalist, professionally he has to abide by a code of ethics, he is there to observe and report, not to interfere. I can’t even imagine the ethical struggle he must have faced when he saw that little girl, personally wanting to help her but professionally knowing he couldn’t.

From a consequentialist point of view, to save the child may have been worth compromising his professional ethics, after all he already had the photos, why not help this girl to the waterfall, no one would have been hurt and the girl would have survived.

From a Deontologist point of view, there is a right and a wrong, and yet there is two ways of looking at it. Save the girl or not save the girl; obey your code of ethics, or don’t obey them. From a deontological perspective, is it ethically wrong to intervene, or would it be ethically wrong to let the girl die? I think this is a very interesting question.

Looking at the situation from a virtue ethics point of view, I would consider that the moral action of saving the girls life would outweigh the ethical compromise of intervening in the situation.

But where does ethical theory fit in to a professional enquiry?

I think there are many ethical pitfalls involved in a professional enquiry, and when considering ethical theory, I would put myself in the consequentialist category. Luckily I doubt my professional inquiry will include any life or death ethical decisions but none the less I think it’s important to adhere to a sound ethical framework when conducting any research into your profession.

Here are a few of the ethical pointers to which I intend to adhere during my inquiry:

• I intend to make any participant fully aware of the purpose of my research, and ensure that they are completely comfortable taking part in any Surveys/interviews etc.

• I intend to weigh both sides of the argument equally and not let any of my personal opinions reflect in my research results.

• I will faithfully record and present any data collected

• I will only ask questions that are directly useful in my research and any question that may seem irrelevant, I will endeavour to explain it’s relevance to participants

• I will ensure complete anonymity to any and all participants

I think it’s important to remember that the reason to conduct a professional enquiry is to look at a problem, discuss and research the problem and present any findings and solutions that may answer questions and help develop a solution to the problem. There is no point in trying to adapt the issues to suit our academic purpose, I believe that to ethically conduct a professional enquiry it must be fair and balanced and achieve the goal of answering unanswered questions and solving unsolved problems.

Ethics in the workplace- Theatre

At first glance I thought that there would be very little in the way of ethical guidelines for performers, and to my knowledge there is no official code of conduct, other than terms and conditions outlined in equity contracts, but on closer inspection and deeper reflection I have come to the conclusion that in my opinion there are two different sides to the same coin of ethics in the theatre. The first side of theatre ethics is personal and professional, and the second is public.

Let me explain my thinking…

The word “ethics” refers to a system of moral principals with regards to other human beings; groups or cultures and I think in the theatre, professional ethics is actually extremely important. The way in which we interact with our fellow colleagues is extremely important to our professional practice, and extremely important to ensuring that we have long and successful careers. Like any other working environment or culture model we work with peers, superiors and as self employed actors we also have people working for us (agents, accountants etc.) and it is extremely important to conduct yourself in a courteous manor when at work. I think it’s important to treat others how you would like to be treated, it may seem like common sense and good manors but things like being quiet in the wings whilst there is a scene going on or arriving on time for rehearsals to the seemingly more trivial like not chewing gum in the wing or making sure you keep your dressing room tidy, I think all of these things come under personal and professional ethics.

The other way of looking at ethics within the theatre as a performer is that you have an ethical responsibility to the audience. The audience after all are the reason that we are there in the first place and surely on the top line of our job descriptions as actors is to perform the show to the best of our abilities and remain professional at all times, especially whilst on stage. Sometimes doing 8 shows per week, 52 weeks per year it can be very hard to keep the energy in your performance and make sure that a Monday afternoon audience with 300 people gets the same performance as a Saturday night audience with 3000. I think this is a key ethical area, it is our responsibility as performers to create an illusion for our audience and we should give that 100% at all times.

 I think our public persona as performers is just as important as our private and professional persona. If you conduct yourself ethically at work, you should gain the respect of your colleagues and by working hard on stage you will also make sure that you have fulfilled your duties to the audience who have paid to see the highest level of professional performers in their fields, giving everything they have got. Every performance should be the same whether your mum is watching or Cameron Mackintosh is watching, they should see the same vigour and passion in the show.

I think it is how we conduct ourselves backstage as well as our abilities on stage that will build a reputation in the close nit theatre industry and ensure that we can achieve career longevity and success, and so ensuring that we have a sound ethical code is vital.

Award title rational

I have been thinking about my award title for a while now and I think I have been around the block a few times and come back to what was my initial, simple thought.

I think there are three reasons for my proposed award title; my initial training and DipHE, my career since then, and my work on BAPP.

I Trained at London Studio Centre on the BA(hons) Theatre dance course. I left after my second year as I was lucky enough to get a job and as such was given my DipHE theatre dance. Since then I have been working in the musical theatre industry using the skills and knowledge gained in my training yet I don’t feel that the title “theatre dance” encompasses my skills as a musical theatre performer, it totally excludes my skills in singing and acting, both of which I now feel have overtaken my skills as a dancer. My work on BAPP and in particular my final inquiry will be looking at the development of musical theatre in today’s economic environment, specifically looking at celebrity casting in musical theatre and asking if the industry needs to go in this direction in order to keep audience figures and profits in the black.

I have decided that the award I will seek as a result of this programme will be:

BA(hons) Professional Practice (Musical Theatre)

As I said at the start of my blog, I have gone through many incarnations of this title in my head but feel that the term "musical theatre" is the most honest and relevant, when I look at my previous training and experience.

An Interesting Article

Thanks to Mark Iles i found this very interesting article that has alot of relevance to my last post, it's almost verbatim in the example of Les Miserable, you'll just have to take me at my word that i didn't read this first!!

http://www.ayoungertheatre.com/in-turn-safety-curtain/

Developing Questions in my Professional Practice

Muscial theatre (my current area of practice) is a constantly changing medium, and it has to be to ensure long-term financial security and economic relevance.

Just last night I was watching the Olivier awards and the commentators were talking about a new breed of musical productions where a successful run is measured in years. Even 20 years ago there were very few musicals that could sustain that kind of success, if a production ran for over a year it was considered to be a hit both financially and artistically. Yet in today’s musical industry, a musical is judged on success on a much tougher scale. A big budget west end musical can take years to recoup the investment initially put into it, even when top ticket prices are at the dizzy heights of £65 or even £70. From a business perspective musical theatre is a traditionally risky investment in the first place and yet more and more we are seeing shows last for decades and I think it throws up some very interesting questions about the state of musical theatre in Britain, especially in the context of a recession.

I am very interested in the paradox between Musical theatre as an art form, and musical theatre as a business.

I suppose there are many interesting questions that rise to the surface of my thoughts, some of them, with thought and research, may be answerable. Yet others are much broader and fall into the “pseudo question” category and are questions that may open the door to other questions.

Here are some of my thoughts;

Is Musical Theatre an art form or a business?

Or is it both? Which is more important? Without the investment of producers is the art form meaningful? Can Modern musical theatre exist on it’s own without the “bells and whistles” of a big production?

What Does Musical theatre need to survive in a recession?

Musicals seem to be doing well compared to other commercial art forms in the current climate, but why? Do people need escapism? When disposable income is so tight, what makes people spend a substantial amount of money in theatre?

Is celebrity casting needed?

Many productions need a big name that is guaranteed to sell seats but is this a good thing? Would the piece sell if X Y or Z were not appearing? Are people buying tickets to see their favourite pop star play Marius or are they paying to see Les Mis? Does it matter? If we get them in the door with a hook will they be open to seeing other productions?

Please excuse my ramblings but I’m trying to get to grips with the direction the industry is moving. Les Miserables is actually a very good case study;

In 1980 Boublil and Schonberg created the musical Les Miserables from the book by victor Hugo. There was no big name involved (although many of the cast became stars later) and in fact Les Mis opened to some scathing reviews by critics and was forecast to be a flop. 30 years on and it is still playing in the west end.

If Boublil and Schonberg came up with Les mis today, would it work? A musical with the word miserable in the title? A musical not based on a movie or with a back catalogue of famous songs, would it have been seen as commercially viable? Even today you can go and see Gareth Gates and soon Matt Lucas in the production so is it just a sign of the times that even the west end cornerstone musicals have had to look at modernising so that they can compete with shows like Legally Blonde, Wicked and We Will Rock You.

I hope this doesn’t come across as a pessimistic view of the state of musical theatre today, it’s simply an observation and I have yet to be convinced whether or not celebrity casting is a good thing for the business or not, but the main question I have is could we survive without it?

The Long Hard Slog

I have finally returned to the world of Blogging and BAPP after a long absence. The last few months have been a whirlwind of Personal and Professional upheaval and unfortunately i put BAPP to the back of my mind until i could sort the rest of my life out!

I've just come back from a week in Tenerife where i had time to sit in the sun and collect my thoughts, something which i have been needing to do for a while, it also gave me a chance to really sit down and take time to read and catch up on all i've been missing and i'm happy to say that i now have a few days before i have to go back to work and i'm concentrating 100% on getting my blog up to date, joining in with the SIG's and getting my thoughts to where they need to be to complete this programme successfully.

I look forward to being re-engaged with you all very soon!